A contemporary golf club has two major components: the shaft and the club head. The club head includes a hosel having a bore that receives the tip end of the shaft when the club is assembled. The tip end of the shaft is typically secured in the hosel using an epoxy.
The sizing of the tip end of the shaft as well as the bore of the hosel is generally standardized in the industry. As a result, these components are interchangeable, i.e. different shafts may be combined with different club heads. This interchangeability allows golfers to customize their clubs to their liking by experimenting with various combinations of shafts and club heads.
Various golf club manufacturers such as Callaway, Nike Golf, Alpha Golf, and Taylor Made have devised connectors that take advantage of this interchangeability by expediting the joining process. Typically, these connectors mount with the hosel of the club head and the tip end of the shaft, and are used to rapidly and removeably join the shaft and club head without the use of epoxy. These connectors have been recognized as providing an advantage to club retailers, as golfers can try various combinations of shafts and club heads in a single visit to a retail store.
Unfortunately, these connectors have significant deficiencies. For example, the portion of the connector that mounts with the hosel of the club head is typically received in the bore of the hosel. This portion of the hosel is ordinarily occupied by the tip end of the shaft alone when a connector is not employed. Such a configuration creates at least two problems.
First, the shaft is surrounded by the connector within the hosel. It has been observed that this configuration changes the design dynamics of the club. It has also been observed that such a configuration creates a metallic, mute, or harsh feel when striking a golf ball.
Second, the bore of the hosel must be bored out or otherwise modified to accommodate the connector and the tip end of the shaft therein. This problem arises because the tip end of the shaft and the hosel are ordinarily sized to snugly mate with one another. Put another way, the inner diameter of the hosel bore is only slightly larger than the outer diameter of the tip end of the shaft.
As a result, the hosel bore must be increased to receive the connector and the shaft. Alternatively, golf club manufacturers must manufacture custom club heads having non-standard hosel bores specifically designed to accommodate the size of a particular style of connector. It goes without saying that this alternative is equally disadvantageous as the problems noted above.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a connector for a golf club that overcomes the noted problems in the art. The invention provides such a connector. These and other advantages of the invention, as well as additional inventive features, will be apparent from the description of the invention provided herein.